Grand Final # 7 - 2018

[Harrysz]

West Coast Eagles 79 defeated Collingwood 74

Collingwood’s surge into the finals in 2018 was unexpected. Under coach Nathan Buckley, Collingwood missed the finals the previous three years and Buckley was widely expected to be sacked. Eddie McGuire held a press conference and said, “The easiest thing to do would be to sack the coach.” But Buckley was re-appointed and 2018 got off to a slow start. That all changed with the Queen’s birthday match when Collingwood beat Melbourne by 7 goals. Mason Cox kicked 5 goals and clearly something special was happening.

Collingwood finished the home and away season in third place and in the qualifying final played West Coast in Perth. Collingwood had a narrow lead at three-quarter time but West Coast rallied and won by 16 points. Collingwood played GWS in the first semi-final and won a tough match by 10 points. Collingwood was then drawn to play Richmond in the preliminary final. Richmond had been premiers the year before and no one gave Collingwood a chance but from almost the opening bounce, Collingwood dominated the game and with Mason Cox starring (Bruce McAvaney exclaiming, ‘What has Collingwood unleashed here?”) Collingwood had a thumping win by 6 goals.

The Grand Final between Collingwood and West Coast was a dead set even money game. There was no clear favourite. Collingwood got off to a great start and kicked the first 5 goals. Every now and then the TV camera flashed on Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, resplendent in a WCE scarf looking glum. Then, before quarter-time, Tom Langdon failed to push the ball through for a point and the resultant West Coast goal was quickly followed by another and at quarter-time Collingwood led by 17 points. The first half of the second quarter was a stalemate with no goals being scored until Jordan De Goey got the ball at half forward and off one step kicked a long goal increasing Collingwood’s lead to 23 points. However, West Coast kicked the last 2 goals of the quarter and at halftime, the lead was cut to 12 points. West Coast was on the road back.
The third quarter saw West Coast inching back into the game and they scored 4 goals 4 to 2 goals 4 and at three-quarter time the scores were level. Strangely, this was the first time in a Grand Final that scores were level at three-quarter time.

At the beginning of the last quarter, Brodie Mihocek eluded a couple of West Coast defenders and kicked a long goal. The ball was bounced back in the centre and Jordan De Goey got the ball and kicked a long goal giving Collingwood a 2 goal lead amidst much excitement. De Goey’s 3 goals in the match were all brilliant. However, the rest of the quarter belonged to West Coast. Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling were too strong for the Collingwood backline. Collingwood sorely missed Darcy Moore who was injured. Steele Sidebottom who had had a great season and finals series was subdued. Nevertheless, Collingwood kept a narrow lead and looked as if it might hold on. With a couple of minutes left to play, Adam Treloar got the ball on the southern side of the MCG and ran forward and kicked the ball towards Collingwood’s goals. Collingwood had Brodie Mihocek and Jordan De Goey there. De Goey made a split-second decision to run towards the goal square in the hope that the ball would be knocked out to him and he’d be able to kick the match-winning goal. Sadly, that did not occur. Mihocek fell over and Jeremy McGovern took a mark. He played on and another West Coast mark was taken. The ball was kicked forward quickly and Liam Ryan took a spectacular mark. He played on and kicked the ball towards West Coast’s forward pocket position. Brayden Maynard was blatantly shepherded out allowing Dom Sheed to mark. Mark McClure (ex-Carlton footballer and no friend of Collingwood) remarked on ABC radio that it was a clear free kick to Maynard, but it wasn’t paid. As Sheed lined up the kick Nathan Buckley asked his assistant coach Justin Longmuir whether Sheed was a good kick. Longmuir replied, “He’s a left-footer.” From about 45 metres out and right on the boundary line Dom Sheed kicked a spectacular goal. West Coast 4 points ahead.

With about a minute and a half to go. Collingwood did not again get the ball over the centre line. Jack Darling missed a simple goal and the siren went shortly after that, giving West Coast victory by 5 points signalling yet another narrow heartbreaking Grand Final loss! The TV camera showed Julie Bishop looking oddly enthusiastic.

Many Collingwood supporters claimed that the Maynard non-free kick cost Collingwood the premiership. We will never know if that is correct but what we do know is that West Coast dominated the second half of the match and particularly the last quarter. Had that free kick been paid to Maynard, would Collingwood have been able to hold West Coast out for the last minute and a half? Who knows.

West Coast was a good side that year, then they seemed to disappear and have been down the bottom of the ladder for the last few years. There is one interesting coincidence between the 2018 Grand Final and the 1979 Grand Final. In both matches, Collingwood kicked the first 5 goals. In both matches, Collingwood lost by 5 points. Scary huh?

In a repeat of Buckley’s first few years as Collingwood’s coach, Collingwood slowly declined over the next few years, losing a narrow preliminary final in 2019 and getting thrashed by Geelong in the first semi-final in 2020. 2021 was a poor year and Nathan Buckley left the club before that season finished. Collingwood would have to wait a bit longer for that elusive 16th premiership.

[Jezza]

Heartbreaking defeat. Led for 95% of the game and we manage to squander it with two minutes to go. Probably the closest incarnation of younger supporters understanding what older generations went through during the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Took me about 2 to 3 years to move on from this game, which coincided with Buckley's departure and Fly's arrival.

Winning the flag this year has really helped evaporate the pain we experienced and it makes me happy that around 10 of those players who played in 2018 ended up becoming premiership players several years later.

The Prelim against Richmond is still one of my favourite games of all time. Mason Cox running amok in a way we never expected and we upset the reigning premiers who expected back to back flags.

I also maintain that 2018 was Buckley's best year during his coaching tenure.

Feels strangely therapeutic to re-live this, so thanks for posting this.

[Harrysz]

Jezza, thank you for your comments.

I've had little response to these postings lately and I've assumed that's because some don't like to re-live sad experiences. I understand that. All I'm doing is recording some memories. Down the track some of these memories won't be quite as sad.

[Harrysz]

By the way, I fully agree with Jezza's comment that it's great that some players in 2018 still became premiership players. Unfortunately all of those players who were in the losing Grand Finals of the 60s, 70s and 1980 weren't able to achieve that.

[the fuzz]

I'm especially happy for Maynard.
I think he should have been paid THAT free in the dying minutes of 2018.
To see him with a medal this year helped ease the pain.
I think the loss in 2018 helped us win it this year.
Hearing Jordy speak before the game, he kept saying he did not want to feel that pain again and he was going to do all he could to be on the other side.
He delivered big time.

[skaman]

Still havnt watched this game.

[Presti35]

I was at the game. Towards the front of level 3. Behind Sheed as he kicked it.

I was devastated after the siren. Took some time to get over it. And we went on to lose the following years PF by under a goal too. We had that classic 1 point win against WCE in WA in the 2020 EF, but we knew we werent good enough to win it all. Then 2021 was a disaster.

Footy is a funny thing.

[blackmissionary]

[Jezza]

[warburton lad]

Impossible to pick out one moment that cost us a flag but late in the last quarter when Treloar was running down the Southern Stand wing, Hoskin-Elliott was spectating and running beside him.

If Hoskin-elliott had shepherded Cripps and allowed Treloar to straighten on his right foot, Treloar would easily have been able to kick the ball over McGovern's head onto the chest of Jordan De Goey who could have burnt 30 seconds on the shot clock.

At the very least, the ball may have gone out of bounds deep in our forward 50 and we may have been able to force stoppages to run out the clock.

The paucity of tall defenders (no Darcy Moore or Lynden Dunn) were also pivotal in the loss...

The tight tag on Steele Sidebottom who was best on ground in the Preliminary Final was also a key tactical move by the Eagles.

[Harrysz]

Good points WL. I forgot about Lyndon Dunne.

[blackmissionary]

They just had our number throughout that year, home and away. Without Natanui, Grundy could have been the difference, but he didn't have a good game - Lycett and Vardy did their jobs well enough. They had nine of the last eleven scores, and missed some absolute sitters. Would have been some highway robbery to get away with it, but it doesn't make losing it feel any better. We could've won it, but we didn't.

[Presti35]

Gaff and Sheppard also missed for WCE that day, along with NicNat.

Moore, Dunne, Reid and Jamie Elliott all missed for Collingwood.

[Harrysz]

There were players missing from both sides, but the reality was, we had them on toast. Then over the next 2 and a half quarters we let them back in and they pipped us.

[Harrysz]

There were players missing from both sides, but the reality was, we had them on toast. Then over the next 2 and a half quarters we let them back in and they pipped us.